The Mother Road – Review

The second book on my Kindle Unlimited binge was The Mother Road by Meghan Quinn. This was another book that has been sitting on my TBR for over two years and I was eager to finally read it. I was initially drawn to the pretty cover and high ratings. I also love a good road trip story, add humor to boot and I’m sold. I couldn’t get enough of this family dynamic, along with the addition of Porter, the best man for Marley’s brother’s upcoming wedding (who also happened to be Marley’s childhood crush and the last man to break her heart).

BLURB:

Never in a million years would I have pictured myself as an axe-wielding, dragon lady, chopping up multi-colored flannel shirts into my very own plaid mulch. But here I am, chopping away my frustrations.

It all started when my brother, Paul, convinced me to go on one last family road trip across the Mother Road with him and my dad.. Just like old times, right? Wrong. What Paul fails to mention is his best man, Porter, will be joining us, who just so happens to be my childhood crush and the man who broke my heart four years ago.

What is supposed to be a fun, family bonding experience across Route 66 turns into a war of pranks, awkward moments and bathrooms full of dirty flannel shirts and day old beard clippings. Paul’s know-it-all attitude and Porter’s devilish charm brings me to the brink of my sanity on my seven day trek across the United States with three bearded men in a small 1980’s RV.

Overall, this was the type of read I was expecting, with a hilarious family, crazy destinations, and an all-around fun road trip. I liked that the characters weren’t taking any old road trip and were actually taking a trip their mother had planned for the family before her passing. This added a heartwarming element to an otherwise mostly lighthearted story.

Unfortunately for me, as the story crept on, I began to feel the humor became a tad over the top and juvenile, especially when it came to Paul. In the beginning of the story, I didn’t mind him and even enjoyed the sibling banter between him and Marley. Somewhere toward the middle of the story, a weird shift happened. It felt as if he stopped being himself and turned into a terrible two-year-old liable to throw a tantrum at any moment. This was incredibly annoying for me as a reader. Also, I may be a bit uptight, but the vulgar humor wasn’t funny to me for most of the story. I see how it could be funny for many people, but it simply isn’t my style. If the majority of the characters were real people, I could not have handled being around them for more than a few minutes in real life, and by the end of the story, I was ready for them to grow up.

Porter and Bernie were the real winners of this book, in my opinion, and redeemed the story for me. Porter’s self-sacrificing love for Marley was sweet and made me adore him all the more. Bernie’s laid-back manner, dorky puns, and Presidential swearing were my favorite things in the entire story. He was a great dad and surrogate father to Porter. I want Bernie to be real!

I decided to stick to the middle with my rating, giving The Mother Road three stars. I liked the underlying story enough, laughed a couple of times, and enjoyed about half of the characters in this story. If I’m being honest, I probably will not reach for another Meghan Quinn book again because I didn’t enjoy her constant locker room humor. My apologies to her hardcore fans! I know there are many.